Local News

WATSONVILLE—The residents of Pajaro Village—a 55-and-older community of about 250 homes in Watsonville—could soon see an increase in their annual homeowners association dues. That’s because the association’s board of directors is considering hiring a management company to run things there. If the board approves the plan...

SACRAMENTO—California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Dec. 30 released a plan under which schools could reopen as early as February. The plan, which streamlines the process of applying for a waiver to bring students back for in-person instruction, is bolstered by a $2 billion package of...

Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies are looking for a man who allegedly hugged an 11-year-old girl in a Soquel store Saturday morning.

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Parks and Recreation Commission at its Monday night meeting unanimously approved three $1,000 Public Art Grants for a pair of ballet folklorico performances, and for a local artist hoping to add to the city’s Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police shut down a portion of Lake Village Avenue off Tuttle Avenue for nearly two hours as they served a weapons search warrant in the normally sleepy, senior-heavy neighborhood. Roughly two dozen police officers surrounded a house on the 800 block of Lake Village...

Editor’s note This is the second of three stories featuring the challengers running for seats on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees. ••• Gabriel Medina graduated from Watsonville High school in 2010 and went to UC Los Angeles to study filmmaking. He returned to...

WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a plan to use a package of federal funds to repair roofs on buildings district-wide, in addition to other maintenance issues. The district will also use part of its $52.76 million in Elementary...

WATSONVILLE—An art studio and performance center for Pajaro Valley Arts, or an Italian restaurant, boutique hotel and creative office space for the Pajaronian?  The Watsonville City Council is expected to decide the fate of the historic Porter Building during the closed session of its virtual...

More than three dozen students from every high school within Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s boundaries gathered in the district’s boardroom Tuesday for a first-of-its kind meeting with Superintendent Heather Contreras. The Superintendent Student Advisory Meeting, which Contreras said will occur at least six times...

Zeke Fraser was hired as the new manager of the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, the board of directors announced Tuesday, capping off a search that began when former manager Dave Kegebein was fired in October. Fraser, a resident of Santa Cruz for nearly 30 years,...